Do you want Torts as the head coach of your Vancouver Canucks for the 2014/15 season?

What about making a good offer to Mike Kitchen of the Chicago Blackhawks? Kitchen has been the assistant coach over there for 4 years, and has been a part of 2 cup winning Chicago teams (edit - actually, just one cup in 2013).

Chicago plays a fast up-tempo game, and he's probably learned quite a few things from Quennville.

herb wrote:My prediction is that Torts gets one chance to adapt and play the way MG wants the team to play, but Sullivan gets fired. Travis Green is made an Assistant.

Any sign of struggles next season and Torts will get shit canned. Green will then take over. Green is the heir apparent, IMO.

No way in hell Gillis quits. He has multiple years left on his contract, and no matter what happens the man will want to get paid (who wouldn't).

If the reaction to gillis yesterday is true and Gillis is sending a message to the Aquilinis then who's to say aquaman doesn't promote his ass to president of back water operations to wait out the expiration of his contract and Torts stays?

If this was da mob, luggage eyes might find himself on an errand to pick up some cannoli for the bosses wife if you know what I mean...

ukcanuck wrote:If the reaction to gillis yesterday is true and Gillis is sending a message to the Aquilinis then who's to say aquaman doesn't promote his ass to president of back water operations to wait out the expiration of his contract and Torts stays?

If this was da mob, luggage eyes might find himself on an errand to pick up some cannoli for the bosses wife if you know what I mean...

I could see Gillis losing the GM job but remaining President. Anything is possible, I guess.

As far as replacing Gillis and/or Torts goes, anybody from the Blackhawks organization would probably be a good start in terms of finding a competent replacement.

Removing the GM from MG is a distinct possibility. MG alluded to that saying that his position is more than a full time job and anything is possible. Again saying he would do what was in the best interest of the team. But if ownership don't want him as GM anymore kind of hard to put him in a position to be the one to pick a new GM. A president with no power. Sorta like getting Burked and hoping the guy quits I guess.

I'd originally just replied with a joke, "how can Scotty Bowman be the Wayne Gretzky of GMs, easy - neither of them has even been General Manager of an NHL team," but then I figured you were probably wrong anyway so I double-checked for you.

Meds wrote:How can a guy who has NEVER BEEN A GENERAL MANAGER, be considered the Wayne Gretzky of General Managers?

Bowman was the GM of the Blues and the Sabres, and a Senior Hockey Ops Advisor to the Blackhawks.

Not to mention he had a lot of input into player personnel decisions when he was with the Wings.

I was scanning through the Scotty Bowman article on Wikipedia, and I'd totally forgotten that he was all ready to join the Toronto Maple Leafs as President when Richard Peddie cut off talks and instead elected to go with Cliff Fletcher as interim GM and then Brian Burke, now Dave Nonis.

Overall I still like the job Mike Gillis has done here but if Scotty Bowman offered to be the brains behind the Canucks hockey ops I'd fire everyone top to bottom if that's what it took.

dbr wrote:I was scanning through the Scotty Bowman article on Wikipedia, and I'd totally forgotten that he was all ready to join the Toronto Maple Leafs as President when Richard Peddie cut off talks and instead elected to go with Cliff Fletcher as interim GM and then Brian Burke, now Dave Nonis.

Now that is a priceless bit of circumstance. No wonder they haven't had any success as a franchise since 67.

Good interview today with Torts posted at CDC. Too much to paraphrase.

But he does say some interesting things.

He and MG are on the same page with respect to the system he is trying to employ. However, after the injuries hit he had to change how he was doing things, in part because of lack of depth. Said he was too late in getting back to what worked, waited too long to right the ship.

He didn't allow himself to be drawn into the shit storm, was very clear he knew what was out there and those conversations were private organizational ones he would have.

Was asked if any other owners sat in on his job interviews with past teams. Said he wasn't sure what he was being asked but yes, he has always been involved with the owners in the past. Kinda sorta maybe evasive answer?

Anyway it is a decent presser and he falls completely on the sword. Also says he won't change what he thinks works just because the press thinks he should, again that needs to be an internal discussion.

He did make a great offer to the press though. When the season us done he suggests they sit around, grab some burgers and beer, and they can tell him what the system is they think he coaches compared to the system they think he should. Said he doubts anyone outside the team really knows what it is he coaches and they may be surprised.